


decisions, decisions

by liquorisce



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M, Gen, Pining, Teenagers, career choices
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:15:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23844334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liquorisce/pseuds/liquorisce
Summary: post tybw. Things are back to 'normal', but even the new normal involves certain changes that the Karakura gang can't avoid... and decisions have to be made. (just a cute fic ft our beloved teens grappling with career choices and Ichigo unable to deal with feelings or the fact that Orihime might leave town for University hehe)
Relationships: Inoue Orihime/Kurosaki Ichigo
Comments: 10
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: posted this on tumblr recently and i think i might continue it, so posting here. I really just miss bleach and wanted some post tybw banter between the Karakura Town folks. I know there’s no point wishing for a slice of life manga about these babies finishing school or college or whatever, so here’s what i came up with

He stares absentmindedly at the football field in front of him, fond memories of different sports clubs wooing him to join. The fights he’s had, the punches he’s taken, the ridiculous antics that he’d gotten up to over the years…  _ It’s all going to be different now, huh.  _ The large brown envelope marked ‘career counseling and university applications’, certainly indicated so.

  


“And?” Tatsuki asks, as she plops onto the bench besides him, “... how’d the career counseling go?” 

  


“... Well, I’d pretty much expected it after the survey outcome, but I think I’ll study English.” 

  


“Well yeah, it makes sense. You’re pretty much the only one in class who can string together two sentences in English successfully,” Mizuiro says, not looking up from his cellphone. 

  


“Huuuuh, this makes no sense! A delinquent studying English?! I thought only fancy girls from elite private schools study that shit,” Keigo whines, before suddenly gasping in realization. He gives Ichigo a sly smile, “Or is that the reason why you want to choose English? To study in a class with pretty rich girls?!” 

  


Ichigo rolls his eyes. He could deny it all he wants, but he’s realized Keigo’s assumptions had already gone too far judging from the dreamy-eyed look in his eyes. “Ne, Ichigo, you’ll introduce us to the pretty girls too, right?” 

  


“For fuck’s sake,” he splutters, “I’m not Mizuiro,” - 

  


“Well, I don’t really need help with the introductions,” Mizuiro states, “so please don’t club me with yourself,  _ Asano-san _ .” 

  


“You’ll have to apply out of town though, right?” Tatsuki interjects, “Does the public university here even offer foreign language courses?” 

  


“... It’s new,” he mutters, thankful for Tatsuki’s change of topic, “They’re starting a Modern English Studies programme here this year, and next year they plan on having an English Lit specialization as well, so that might be interesting. Not many people know of it because it’s Karakura and they’re shit at advertising so I’m hoping that’ll increase my chances of getting in.” 

  


“I’m kind of jealous of you guys,” she says wistfully, “you’ll all be going to university together. Don’t forget to invite me to your fancy university parties okay?” 

  


“... No promises” - 

  


“But Arisawa-san will be so busy, traveling all over the country for her competitions. It’s not our fault if you miss out on all the… ahem...  _ latest developments _ ,” Mizuiro says, with a wink. 

  


“Right, about that, I’m going to count on you to keep an eye on them and report everything, okay?” she responds, grinning to herself. If the two idiots didn’t manage to confess to each other even in university, she’d truly give up on the concept of love.

  


“What are you idiots conspiring about?” Ichigo asks, completely clueless about the winks and the mischievous smiles being exchanged between Tatsuki and Mizuiro. “What ‘developments’ are you talking about? And who’s ‘ _ them’  _ ?!”

  


“That’s between the two of us,” she says cheekily, “besides, where’s Orihime?” 

  


…

  


Ichigo is the first to spot her. He calls out to her noticing her shuffling out of the counselor’s office in a daze. She’s different today, he notices, her cheery smile replaced by a completely chewed lower lip, her grey eyes worried and anxious. 

  


“What happened to you?” Tatsuki exclaims, “You like you’re about to cry?” 

  


“... What did the counselor say?” Ichigo asks, finding himself having to suppress this irrational anger at the idea of someone upsetting Orihime. It’s ridiculous, this reaction, but he adds it to the growing list of recently observed ridiculousness she evokes from him. 

  


“I just… I’m so confused about this whole University thing!” she wails. He smiles at this, because she’s not alone in feeling this way, but her somewhat childish outburst just makes him relax a little. Gives him comfort that she isn’t suffering from something in her lonesome, that unlike a couple of years ago, she feels comfortable in sharing what’s on her mind. 

  


“Maybe I shouldn’t even bother. It would be easier to just start working, it would make more sense financially too.” She’d started rambling to herself at this point. “... That’s right, I could just keep working at the bakery and maybe someday I could have my own,” - 

  


“Inoue, I’m not sure how many people would enjoy your  _ unique _ flavour profiles,” - 

  


“... Shut up, Ichigo” - there’s a loud  _ whack  _ sound in the background, but Orihime doesn’t notice - 

  


“... and I could do multiple jobs, be a babysitter, work at Dunkin Donuts, it’ll be so much simpler,” - 

  


“ _ Orihime _ ,” Tatsuki raises her voice, shaking her out of her monologue. “What’s going on? I thought you wanted to go to University? And this can’t be about your grades, they’re almost perfect.”

  


“... And what about your career aptitude survey?” Ichigo nudged, “Didn’t that help you decide what you want to study?” 

  


“Eh…,” She smiles at him sheepishly, “Um, unfortunately I couldn’t make too much out of that,” - 

  


“Of course,” Tatsuki sighs, sarcastically, “Our little girl genius here has shown an aptitude for so many professions that it hasn’t helped in the slightest.” 

  


Ichigo gapes at her in shock. “... It’s not like that Tatsuki-chan,” she denies vehemently, a pretty pink blush dusting her cheeks. “Besides, it’s not just what I want to study…” she trails off, fidgeting with the strap of her bag. 

  


“Ochi-sensei suggested I could try applying to University out of town as well,” she finishes quietly, looking nervously at her own feet. 

  


Ichigo finds himself at a loss of words. What she’s saying isn’t particularly insane, many of their classmates harboured dreams of moving to bigger cities, even Tatsuki’s karate championships would take her out of town so often, it was almost as good as her moving away, and Chad intended on training at a camp not too far out of town and then hitting the boxing circuit…

  


But listening to Orihime saying it, in her soft, serious voice, head bent over, it just made everything feel so much more real. And the thought of her leaving Karakura - 

  


“That’s amazing, Inoue-san,” Mizuiro exclaimed, for once lifting his attention away from his constant stream of texts, “Do you think you’d move to Tokyo? I wanted to apply, but the counselor made it pretty clear that with my grades I didn’t stand a chance…” 

  


_ Tokyo?! That was literally 4 hours away by car.  _

  


“That’s an excellent idea” Keigo gasps, “Inoue-chan, this town is no place for a beauty like you” -

  


“You have so much potential, Orihime,” Tatsuki says softly, dismissing Keigo’s clownery, and feeling somewhat proud of what her insanely smart yet ridiculously underconfident best friend, “you shouldn’t waste it on babysitting and working in a donut shop.” She looks at Ichigo, who seemed to be somewhat in shock, his scowl intense and focused on Orihime. 

  


“Say something, moron, and drop the scary look,” she whispers. 

  


But he couldn’t, really, didn’t know what to say besides,  _ no _ , flat out, because that was the only thing that kept repeating over and over in his mind. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Are you… sure you want to leave town?” 

  


“I-I don’t know,” she looks up at him, her face crumpled and downright miserable, and he hated it, hated when she looked at him that way, hated what she was saying, and hated this consuming feel that was taking over him. “I mean, I want to stay. I want to stay with you and Tatsuki-chan, and Sado-kun and Ishida-kun, and Kojima-san and Asano-san and go to class together, and eat lunch together, but…” 

  


_ But it’s not going to be like that anymore.  _ She didn’t have to say it for him to understand. He didn’t think he was a sentimental guy, but he’d been doing his best not to deal with this fact. And he wanted to scream at the world, really, because after the last couple of  _ outrageous  _ school years that they’ve had, he’d really appreciate some time to relax with his friends and go through the motions of a regular high school life, participate in the cultural fest, ask a girl out on a date… 

  


“... It’s not going to be that different, Orihime,” Tatsuki says, interrupting his thoughts, but you can hear it in her voice, the guilt, the bittersweet recognition that despite her own excitement for her career, she had precious relationships that she may not have as much time for. But she tries to muster up the encouragement for her friend, “... I’ll still be around, and so will many of us, and we can all meet up after classes. If you decide to stay that is. But if you do decide to leave, we’ll have Skype calls, and you’ll make new friends,” - 

  


Ichigo shoots her an annoyed look. Orihime was supposed to be Tatsuki’s  _ best friend _ . And he just didn’t understand why the hell she would actually be  _ encouraging  _ her to go to an unknown city, with more than 10 million people, with her accident-prone nature and her unfailing ability to attract creeps. “It’ll be fine,” he says, gruffly, convincing himself that she will be, because she’s strong and smart and good-natured, and she’ll take care of herself just fine, “... I’m sure you’ll do amazing if you decide to study somewhere else.” 

  


“But...,” and this is the harder part, overcoming this absurd lump in his throat, weighing down on him unbearably. Saying it would mean admitting it, admitting it to himself and maybe considering that this feeling had further reaching implications that he wasn’t sure he was ready for. Was it so crazy that he really,  _ really  _ didn’t want her to leave?

  


_ “... It would be really nice if you stayed.” _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just wanted more post-tybw-high-school-karakura-gang cuteness so i wrote some + ichihime pining + ichi x ishi bickering (which we love around here)

It’s five minutes to two, and Ichigo fought to stifle a yawn. The menacing five hundred pages of English grammar exercises in front of him wasn’t helping. 

“... Unbelievable,” he curses, slamming the book shut, much to the annoyance of his bespectacled classmate sitting across him. “Why the hell can’t they just teach us proper English in school?! I’m absolutely fucking positive that Honda-sensei didn’t mention more than three tenses in her class. And what kind of English lesson takes place in Japanese anyway?!” 

“... Quit your whining, Kurosaki. Some of us are trying to study here.” 

Ichigo fumed. By ‘some of us,’ Ishida was pointedly referring to just himself and the long-haired beauty sitting right opposite him, who, judging by her giggling at his outburst, welcomed his distraction. The same giggling that was contributing to the problem, contributing to Ichigo’s immense distraction since after dinner. 

“You’re not even human, Ishida,” he says dismissively. “Keigo’s literally made his bed on my dad’s couch, you can hear his goddamn snores, and Mizuiro left to ‘watch the stars’ with some new girl thirty minutes ago.” 

“You’re the one who invited us over to your place for an all-nighter group study session and you’re calling it quits before the sun is up? As expected, you’re weak.” 

He was right, this had been Ichigo’s idea, Yuzu had offered to make them dinner and his dad had plans tonight, so they were guaranteed some peace and quiet. Despite the noise and the chaos of their group, he missed hanging out with his friends. Ever since the school had given them voluntary study holidays for the upcoming University Entrance Exams, he didn’t get to see much of everyone, as they were either studying or training for competitions. Even today, Tatsuki and Chad left after dinner because they had to get up early for practice and they had decided they wouldn’t be giving the exams anyway. 

Ignoring Ishida’s pointed attempts to rile him up, he turns his attention to Orihime, who despite enjoying their banter, was more focused on the cram book in front of her. 

“Inoue, how are you still so motivated and so…  _ awake _ ?,” he asks, exasperated. “It’s almost 2 am! And you’ve been scribbling away furiously for the last thirty minutes. What are you even studying?” 

“Mouuu, you’re right. I’m not able to solve this proof anyway. Maybe I should call it a night?”

“Electromagnetism?” Ishida asks, skimming the title of the chapter, “Oh, I’ve done this one, I can explain this to you if you want.” 

He doesn’t know what irritates him more, Ishida’s nerdiness, or the soft look in his eyes as he unfailingly offers to help Orihime out, as he’d been doing a lot more of late, ever since they had started studying for the entrance exams together. In fact, it’d been this way this entire evening, starting from when he took a seat right next to her at the table as if he fucking belonged there, leaning over into her notebook, whenever she needed help, his arm casually brushing against her long, silken locks, her answering smile bright and incredibly close to him, and - Ichigo forces that thought to a halt because it has him gritting his teeth. “... For God’s sake, give her a break,” - 

“... Shut up, Kurosaki, not everyone is applying to study *English* in University” - 

“And what exactly do you mean by that, asshole?” Ichigo snarls, with more venom than needed, because despite having had enough with Ishida’s condescending attitude towards his study choices, his recent behaviour had Ichigo prickling under his skin. . 

“... Err, Kurosaki-kun…” Orihime starts, because she’s used to Ichigo and Ishida arguing (they’re just being affectionate, she always insists), there’s a glint in Ichigo’s eyes that’s different.

“... Exactly what I said, some of us don’t have the luxury of skipping the math and science exams,” - 

“Ah, Kurosaki-kun is right! I think my brain really can’t function anymore tonight,” Orihime declares loudly, inserting herself in between them. “Kurosaki-kun, I think I will leave now. Thank you so much for hosting us today.” She bows, her formality annoying him even more, but still throwing him off guard.

As always, Orihime’s pleasant demeanour diffused the rising tempers… somewhat. With one last glare, Ishida grudgingly agreed, “Then I guess I will take my leave as well.” 

Ichigo wants to be polite and say something like, “we should do this more often,” but he’s pissed off, and couldn’t wait to be rid of Ishida’s arrogant mug, so instead he offers, “Inoue, can I walk you home?” 

He doesn’t notice the faint red on her cheeks or the hesitation on her face, when she mumbles, “If it doesn’t inconvenience you.” And he’s torn again - tearing his eyes away from the pretty blush dusting her cheeks unable to stop himself from wondering bitterly if she’d let Ishida walk her home without much protest.

“Ishida lives in the other direction and it would be out of his way, so I don’t mind.” 

“Well then,” Ishida says, looking at her with more fondness than Ichigo would have liked, “Your eyes are all red and puffy. Sleep well. Don’t strain yourself, okay?”

“Yes sir,” she gives him the salute, “... good night!” 

“... And text me that you got home safe. This idiot can’t be trusted with anything,” - 

“... for fuck’s sake, just go home already!” 

“Kurosaki-kun,” she whispers, amused, as she watches Ishida walk away with a cheeky grin on his face, “you’ll wake the neighbours with your angry yelling.”

“Ah, you’re right,” he mumbles, rubbing his neck sheepishly, as their footsteps fall into place beside each other, “I’m sorry for all the swearing, I don’t know why I let Ishida under my skin so much.” 

“Hmmm,” she says, “It’s kind of cute, your bickering. If this were a yaoi novel, I’d totally ship it!” 

“... what the hell?!” His face is red, not just because the thought of him… and  _ Ishida _ … Ew. But also because this is coming from Orihime, the last person he’d ever expect to engage in fantasies of this sort.

Giggling, she quickly switches to a more somber note. “You seemed... on edge today. Did something happen between the two of you?” 

He doesn’t know how to answer that question. Truth be told, he’s barely able to understand it himself. Sure, there was the usual trading of insults that took place between the two of them, but it was different this time. His whole demeanour just pissed him off. The way he always seemed to know what Orihime was asking, the way he was always able to help her, the familiar way he spoke to her… and the revelation that they’d been studying together for weeks now! 

“I don’t know,” he sighs, because he can’t even explain what he is feeling, let alone the reason behind it, “... I guess it’s just the stress of the exam.” 

“Ugh, tell me about it,” she whines, “I’m so thankful Ishida-kun is giving the same exams as me, and we can share practice questions and tips. I really wouldn’t be able to do this alone.” 

He ignores her mention of him and the tick in his jaw in reaction. “But I don’t get it. You’re giving almost all the exams. Why?!? There’s surely no need.” 

She blushes, ashamed, “I know it sounds stupid, but I really haven’t decided what I want to study in University. I figured if I just gave all of the exams, I would have more options to choose from.” 

“... Come on,” - 

“... And I will also prefer to go wherever I get a scholarship.” 

His fist clenches, “... So you’re definitely applying outside of Karakura?” 

“Yeah, although I’m not sure if there’s any point. It’s so difficult to aim for the National Universities, I’ll never get through. But the counselor says it’s worth a shot for the scholarship.”

“... I thought your aunt was helping you with tuition?” 

“... Only till high school. And I cannot burden her anymore. I’ve received so much from her already.” 

Ichigo doesn’t miss the way her voice wavers at the end, the guilt evident in her words. And he can’t stand it. “... Cheer up,” he says softly, playfully elbowing her. “You’re one of the smartest kids in school. Rank #2 after all the shit we went through last year! If anyone can do it you can.” 

“... You think so?” she mumbles, looking up at him, her insecurities heartbreaking in the grey of her eyes. 

Everything about her is so honest, it hurts him a little bit because his first thought is to say no, to talk her out of it, because the revelation is too sudden, too jarring - he can’t  _ bear  _ the thought of this town without her. But he nods, smiles encouragingly, because that’s just way too selfish.

Shaking his head out of these thoughts, he asks, “... what was the counselor’s recommendation, again? As a career path?” 

“Ah, Hirata-san said maybe I should just follow my love for baking,” she says, smiling. 

“... and? Why don’t you consider that? You wouldn’t have to give these blasted exams then.” 

He liked the idea of this, now more than before, momentarily regretting his role in convincing her to apply to university. Orihime working in the local bakery, coming around his house everyday to share the leftovers, staying back for dinner maybe… 

“... but Kurosaki-kun was the one who said I wouldn’t be very good at it!” She pouts, “You said I’d make too many things in weird flavours and nobody would want to buy them.” 

_ Crap.  _ He truly felt like waltzing back in time and whacking the past version of him for saying something like that. Because if it were anyone else shitting all over Orihime’s dream, he’d have sent the punk flying.  _ Where were all these feelings coming from anyway?!  _

“... Shit, I didn’t mean,” - 

“... it’s okay, you’re right. And besides I can work there part-time through University. I was thinking…” She took a deep breath. “Well, actually, it was Ishida-kun’s idea. Maybe I could study to become a doctor? My strength is in healing people anyway…” 

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Well of course,  _ he'd  _ say that. He's going to study medicine too." And of course he would try to talk Orihime into it. The bastard had taken every opportunity to slither by her side - 

She laughs, a pretty sound, interrupting the profanity in his mind. "Yeah, he did say it would be nice to have some company… but I'm not sure." Sighing, she asks, "How did you decide on English Studies?" 

It wasn't too difficult for him honestly. It helped that he was fairly certain he didn't want to study math or science going forward. "... I like stories. And I want to be able to read and share stories in a global medium, so I decided to study English." 

He looks at her only to find her looking at him in fascination, "... Truth be told, I didn't spend too much time thinking about it. The career aptitude test returned similar results as well, so I just went with it." He shrugs, "I think I'll enjoy it. Let's see." 

"Ahh, you sound so optimistic about your studies, Kurosaki-kun. I wish I could be like that." 

They've reached her apartment building now and she turns to look at him, wistfully. He wishes he could do something for her, ease her anxieties in some way. 

"What about you?" He asks. 

She looks at him, puzzled. .

"... You've told me all about what everyone wants you to do. What do  _ you _ want to do? I'm sure you must have some inkling." 

“... I,” she stops, opens her mouth again to say something, but nothing comes out. “... what I want… ah, you’ll probably think it’s silly.” She smiles wistfully to herself, because this wasn’t something that she’d ever admitted out loud.

He rolls his eyes, “... Try me.” Because she was many things, and yes, definitely silly sometimes in that unique way of hers, but he would never,  _ could never _ , call her dreams silly. It’s a moment of realization for him, when he gets angry with the way she dismisses her own dreams that way, and he feels overwhelmed with the desire to pick them up, and keep them safe where no one can trample them, along with that spaced-out, wistful smile of hers. 

“Well,” she gulps, nervous, “I’ve never really thought too much about going to university. Sensei says I’m wasting my potential... but honestly, I think I’ll be happy working.” 

She looks at him unsurely, waiting for a reaction, an opinion, like everyone else. Everyone who’d been urging her to continue school and pursue all kinds of studies that she could possibly do, but… “I just - I want to build a simple life with someone I love. A family, maybe, someday.” 

It comes out so fast, she wishes she could grab the words and shove them back in her mouth. She chances a glance at him, her cheeks hot and furiously embarrassed. 

His expression is unreadable as he gazes down at her. She’s beautiful in the moonlight, he thinks, and it isn’t really a revelation to him, but the melancholy of her beauty is, the loneliness that he wishes he could extinguish as easily as he does hollows. “A simple life huh…” he murmurs. And he can almost picture it, Orihime, ten years from now, a child in her arms, a little boy maybe, with her wide brown eyes and - 

“Well, looks like you have planned it out better than any of us,” he manages hoarsely, unable to look her in the eye anymore. Not with all these…  _ feelings  _ simmering so close to the surface. And before he can help himself, “Do you already know who this mystery man is?” 

He’s come to realize how absolutely unequipped he is to hear the answer, but her unassuming statement has already taken residence inside him somehow, a burning sensation accompanying it. 

His question jolts her into consciousness, and she notices they’re almost at her apartment. “Ah Kurosaki-kun is very curious today,” she laughs nervously, “only one confession per day! That’s the limit!” The fake cheer in her voice grates in her own ears but she hopes desperately it will steer him away because she’s this close to telling him sometimes, and this was one of those times. Especially in these rare moments when she feels an odd mixture of weakness and greed, where she wants to latch on to him and ask him to stay by her side, hoping selfishly that his kindness will make him say yes. But Orihime was practiced at hiding those feelings away. 

“Is that right,” he smiles teasingly, albeit weakly, “... I didn’t know you were so  _ mysterious _ , Inoue. Well goodnight, then.” 

And as he watches her climb up the stairs to her floor, and then lean over the railings to wave goodbye one more time, he can’t help but think of that image of her again, happy and in love and so beautifully fulfilled. And he thinks of the shadow of the man next to her, who will protect that dream and that smile, and his stomach clenches bitterly. 

“You deserve it,” he whispers to her retreating figure, “... You deserve all of it.”

_ \- fin -  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the ending is cheesy I KNOW UGH


End file.
